Canada Post also has a roughly $4.7-billion solvency deficit in its pension plan.

The Crown corporation locked out some 50,000 of its employees last summer after a series of rotating strikes.

The dispute ended with federal back-to-work legislation that forced workers to accept wages that amounted to less than Canada Post’s last offer.

Arbitration hearings to bring a final settlement were delayed earlier this month after the union won a stay of proceedings from the Federal Court.

The Canadian Union of Postal Workers is seeking to block arbitrator Guy Dufort from hearing the case because of his previous work for Canada Post and history as a Tory candidate in Quebec.

Though he was on a union-approved list of potential arbitrators, the union said they were unaware of the depth of his ties to the Conservatives and Canada Post and objected to his appointment as soon as they learned of the links.

Labour Minister Lisa Raitt named Dufort to hear the case after retired judge Coulter Osborne quit the job amid concerns that he was not bilingual.

The Canada Post Group of Companies is made up of Canada Post, Purolator, SCI Group and Innovapost.

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